We'll text you -- noon tomorrow

November 23, 2010

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Beloit College's emergency alert system is getting even better. As a part of a new feature rollout, tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov. 24) at noon all students and employees who have a cell phone number on file will get a text message from BeloitCollege911ALRT. This test message will read:

BeloitCollege911ALRT:You are now confirmed to receive alerts from us. More info text reply "HELP" or "STOP 1379" to opt-out.

While this message will allow you to opt-out of future emergency text alerts, Beloit College's Emergency Response Team strongly encourages you to do nothing. By doing nothing you will be automatically registered to receive emergency alert notifications via text message from the college. The college will only use this feature twice annually to test the system, and in the event of a real emergency (or credible threat) to your safety.

Again, expect to receive the text message above tomorrow (Wed., Nov. 24) at noon. This is a required step in the college’s move to add a text message feature. The next regular test of the full alert system won’t occur until February (the college will test the system a few weeks after the start of each new semester).

An update regarding Monday’s tornado alert:

The emergency alert system was put into practical use on Monday when a tornado warning was issued for our immediate area. In an abundance of caution, the college’s policy is to echo the local warning horns whenever they sound. Those horns are triggered whenever a tornado warning is issued for Rock County.

At about the same time that the college was issuing its voice and e-mail alerts, at least one tornado was touching down in nearby Caledonia, with the Rockford Register Star reporting significant damage to the city’s downtown but, as of late Tuesday evening, no serious injuries.